This invention relates to gaming machines and, in particular, to a video poker gaming machine.
Video poker machines used for gaming are well known in the art. Most video poker gaming machines used in casinos implement conventional rules for poker by dealing five cards face up and allowing the player to hold any number of the cards. When the player then presses a draw button, the discarded cards are replaced with new cards. A payout table cross-references the resulting hand with a win amount, and the player is paid accordingly.
What is needed is a video poker gaming machine that has more appeal than the conventional video poker gaming machines. Such a machine will be played more often to generate more revenue to the casino, resulting in increased sales of such a video poker machine.
In one embodiment of a video poker machine in accordance with the present invention, a processor deals ten cards face up from a virtual card deck. The player then must discard three cards using buttons associated with each card or a touch screen. The processor randomly picks and displays five of the remaining seven cards. The award is based on the resulting five-card hand.
This game concept can be expanded to allow for multiple hands. In such a case, the player chooses to play any number of hands. The processor deals ten cards, and the player discards three of the cards. The processor then randomly picks and displays, separately for each hand played, five of the remaining cards. In this way, a good starting set of ten cards can be used to create a number of large payoff hands, making the game more exciting to the player. An award is then given based on all the hands played.
Similar concepts are presented for stud poker. The game concept may be applied to any number of initial cards, any number of cards to be discarded, and any number of cards to be randomly selected from the remaining cards.